NDA attacks Rahul Gandhi for calling Bihar caste survey 'fake'

Patna: The ruling NDA in Bihar on Sunday slammed Congress leader Rahul Gandhi for terming as "fake" the caste survey conducted by Nitish Kumar government in the state.

On his first tour of the state since Lok Sabha polls, Gandhi on Saturday vowed to push for a nationwide caste census and declaimed that he would see to it that the exercise was "not fake... intended to befool people" like the one conducted in Bihar in 2022-23.

Reacting to the statement, state minister Vijay Kumar Chaudhary of the JD(U) said "we cannot expect anything better from a politician who is unable to differentiate between Indian government and Indian state".

The allusion was to a recent remark by Gandhi in Delhi, which has led to an FIR against the Congress in BJP-ruled Assam.

Chaudhary reminded Gandhi that "his party had been supporting the caste survey all through. The government has also been willing to set right anomalies if these were pointed out with tangible evidence. In such a backdrop, the comment by Gandhi is just another example of his propensity to speak things that sound ridiculous".

Senior BJP leader and former minister Syed Shahnawaz Hussain expressed similar sentiments and pointed out "till recently, Rahul Gandhi used to claim credit for Bihar's caste survey. It is bewildering on his part to call the survey fake".

State minister Dilip Jaiswal, who is also the Bihar BJP chief, mockingly said, "Before holding forth on caste census, Rahul Gandhi should tell us to which caste does he belong".

Incidentally, the Congress was a partner in the government headed by Nitish Kumar when the findings of the survey were made public in October 2023. The survey highlighted a rise in the population percentage of Dalits and backward classes.

Reacting to the attack on the party’s top leader, state Congress president Akhilesh Prasad Singh claimed Gandhi had meant to underscore that the survey has since been "put in cold storage".

"Nitish Kumar left us and joined hands with the BJP shortly after the survey's report was published. He has since been dragging his feet which makes one question his intentions," the former Union minister alleged.

The Rajya Sabha MP pointed out that "quotas for Dalits and backwards were raised in light of the findings of the survey. The legislation was set aside by the Patna High Court and the government has challenged the order in Supreme Court. Nitish Kumar is now hiding behind the excuse that the matter is before the court".

"If the CM is serious about ensuring that deprived sections receive benefits, he should withdraw the petition, bring in a fresh legislation and then use his party's clout in the Centre to protect the new law from any judicial intervention by getting it placed in the ninth schedule of the Constitution," he said.